


Tied to the Tide

by TheSageSeraph



Category: Free!
Genre: Fate & Destiny, Fortune Telling, Haru/Makoto/Sousuke is Final/Main pairing, M/M, Post-Eternal Summer, Recent College Graduates, Red String of Fate, Slow Build, Soulmates, with a twist.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-08 12:49:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4305738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSageSeraph/pseuds/TheSageSeraph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys return to Iwatobi to catch up with each other. Nagisa tricks (most) everyone into seeing a fortune teller. After being revealed that they are 'tied' to their soulmates (yet given very vague/misleading fortunes) chaos, heartbreak, and lots of love ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Wave

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fan fiction, and I don't think I'm that great at writing... so please critique all you want! :)  
> It's a big work in progress, so bare with me as I sort everything out and figure out how and where the boys lives are headed.

A warm breeze blew through the narrow streets of the coastal Japanese village on a midsummers day. Signs hung from shops all donning the name Iwatobi, in honor of their small town that had recently gained attention as the birthplace of two of Japan’s best swimmers, Haruka Nanase and Rin Matsuoka. A sandy beach led up to many stores which lined the boardwalk. Haru loved this view of the ocean, which was why he had walked with Makoto to high school on this very path only a few years ago. But now, Haru and Makoto followed the path as a way of remembering their time in Iwatobi and the many changes that had come after they left for Tokyo.

Both men walked in a comfortable silence, each reflecting on life, friends, and the vast differences between home and Tokyo.

“So much has changed since we left, right Haru-chan?” The tall green eyed man said eyeing all the shops they used to pass, now with updated facades and signs. Haru glanced at Makoto and sighed, only giving a slight pause to think.

“Somethings don’t.” Haru replied. This made Makoto chuckle from realizing what Haru had meant.

“Right. Sorry Haru.” Makoto said with a smile, emphasizing the lack of '-chan'. Haru gave a small blush and quickly averted his eyes back to the ocean, his ever present source of peace. He missed the presence of the ocean in Tokyo, he was able to walk to the beach in only a few minutes from his house here in Iwatobi. But what Haru missed more than the short walk was the fact he was able to complete the journey without seeing a soul. In Tokyo, he’d see two or three people before he was even out of his apartment building.

The silence returned and they kept on their way.

‘The wind off the ocean is also great compared to the stiff city air’ Haru thought. But the sun’s rays beat down endlessly no matter where you were this time of year. This made any person brave enough to face nature sweat, instantaneously. Haru noticed after two steps that Makoto was no longer by his side, turning he found the taller man staring into a small shop. He followed his line of sight to a large freezer filled with ice cream, drinks, and popsicles. Haruka’s lips twitched into an almost imperceptible smile before returning to their resting position, one void of emotion.

“I’ll buy.” He said. Makoto’s face lit up but replied, “Oh, no Haru. I was just looking, let’s go meet up with the others.” His smile grew, which caused his eyes to close as he tilted his head. A soft ring of a bell sounded as Haru walked into the shop leaving Makoto to smile at no one in particular.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“HARU-CHANNN. MAKO-CHANNN!!” Nagisa screamed as Haruka and Makoto rounded the corner. He and Rei stood outside a small restaurant, one Nagisa begged for everyone to try. Nagisa’s arm flailed back and forth while Rei was in much more control, as if he had studied how to wave from a young age. Makoto’s arm raised high into the air, could’ve been seen even in the crowded streets of Tokyo, as he returned the gesture.

After exchanging pleasantries the four swimmers entered the restaurant named “Mystide”.

‘Such a strange name.’ Haru thought.

Inside was a soft atmosphere. Candles burned around the eating space, flowers of all varieties decorated mismatched tables, and the women who worked the front room seemed to be oddly casual in dress, somewhat like a European gypsy. Each of the men had their own first impression.

“It’s a cute place Nagisa.” Makoto the first to voice his opinion.

“It’s… something.” Rei said unsure of the decor.

Nagisa turned to Haru who had yet to say anything to find him staring at the menu.

“They have Mackerel.” Was all he said.

The men settled into looking around the shop as they waited. The gypsy woman served a young couple their food and then headed towards the entrance.

“Good evening, how many?” She said rather flatly.

“Six plea…”

“Oh, no only five.” Nagisa cut Mako off. “Sou-chan can’t make it.” He said in a sad defeated voice.

The four walked over to a small table with a small sakura branch stretching out of a black and white vase. Quickly they fell into conversation of everything that they had to catch up on from the time they spent apart. This went on until the woman returned to take their order as they waited. Soon after ordering, the hot-headed redhead they had been waiting for entered the restaurant with his trademark shark toothed grin. The five friends discussed everything; Rin’s short vacation from training in Australia, life in Tokyo for Haru and Makoto, Rei’s choice to study medicine, Nagisa’s recent run in with a fortune-teller, and other funny stories that have occurred along the way.

The swimmers talked until they were the only people in the restaurant except for the woman who had seated them. ‘But she seems in no hurry nor is she acting impatient.’ Haru turned his attention back to the conversation, which had returned to the Fortune-Teller Nagisa had been so animatedly talking about.

“Madame Nami-san, Can you tell us about our soul-mates?!” Nagisa asked loudly to the gypsy woman.

Haru sighed, realizing the reason they were brought to this restaurant.

“Wait, _She’s_ the fortune-teller??” Makoto asked incredulously.

Nami-san, the gypsy looking woman, calmly walked over and drew attention to herself. Haru thought she gave off an air of command. The swimmers fell silent and moved so that they all fit on one half of the table. She pulled up a chair and closed her eyes.

Nagisa’s eyes shimmered, staring at the woman, waiting, hoping for some overly romantic story where he falls head over heels in love with someone. The other four waited somewhat confused as to what was going on.

“Before I begin, I will share what it is I see and how this relates to your soul-mate.” She breathed quietly. “Every person is tied to their soul-mate by a colored ribbon. Most times the colors of the ribbon relates to the person in a significant way. Sometimes I am unable to see ones ribbon, but this could be for many reasons. I shall give an example, a ribbon I can see very clearly,  the tall young man…”

Haru’s eyes darted to Makoto but kept his face expressionless, trying to read Makoto.

“Your ribbon matches your friends eyes, almost perfectly.” she said, nodding towards Haru.

Makoto laughed and his face was enveloped by a smile.

She continued, “But your soul-mate seems to be quite far away.”

Haru watched as his best friends face fell, almost as if his heart had been broken by this news. Makoto turned and locked eyes with Haru, giving him a forced smile. The expressions were soaked in by Haru and he hurried to analyze what all this meant. The only description he could come up with was, _Odd_.


	2. Salt Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few more of the boys find out information about their soul-mates. One of them is not very happy with the news of his future...

Makoto knew Haru was confused and worried about him, but he needed a way to distract Haru in order to keep his thoughts and feelings to himself. Though Nagisa was not nearly as attuned to Makoto as Haru was, he made up for it in enthusiasm. He eagerly moved on from Makoto’s quick reading in order to bring attention to himself.

“Ooh, ooh! Me next!” He squealed rising out of his seat slightly.

Madame Nami-san turned to him, “All in good time my dear.”

She continued to look at Nagisa and then moved to Rin and Rei. She took a few breaths and concentrated on what feelings she could read off of the remaining swimmers. Each of them had some how become entranced by the woman, waiting in anticipation as to what she would say next, who she would reveal the secrets of love to second. When a small smile formed they knew she was ready to pull back the curtain of one of the men's soulmates.

“Rin was it?” She asked the redhead who was in the process of putting his hair up. He froze and quickly set everything in place.

“Uh, yea?” Rin nervously responded.

Nami-san studied him a little. Makoto watched Rin, as he seemed somewhat off put by the women or the idea of fortunes and soulmates. When he thought about it more, he realized none of this really held any water. He sat, lost in his own thoughts in an attempt to remedy his earlier emotional wounds. When he was close to accepting his thoughts Makoto felt a hand on his leg. It was a gentle touch. He turned but this time he found Haru’s eyes full of support and reassurance, no longer did deep pools of blue cause his heart to stir from the amount of concern they held. Makoto nodded and turned back to Madame Nami-san to hear what she had to say about Rin.

“Your ribbon. It’s thin… and”

“So? What does that mean?” Rin burst out saying defensively. Nami-san remained calm through Rin’s outburst, seemingly aware of how he reacted to anything he perceived to be bad news. She went on to describe some traits the ribbons may hold and what those mean. Makoto listened, taking mental notes to apply to his own ribbon.

Width was attributed to when one would meet their soulmate and/or how long it would be until the two came in contact. Length was the distance between two soul-mates,but it was rather difficult to tell how far away his ‘soul-mate’ was. Color, from what he remembered, had to do with something significant or meaningful between him and his supposed soul-mate. For some reason, it was related to, of all people, Haru's eye color.

“It just means you will have to wait longer than your tall friend here.” She pleasantly responded. Rin was not upset by this information, as he was still skeptical about if he was truly destined to be with whoever this woman saw as his soul-mate.

Makoto sat politely, thinking about his own situation but doing his best to look as if he was still interested in what Madame Nami-san was informing the others of on their own ribbons. As she finished with Rin, leaving a neutral, if not annoyed look on his face, her face fell upon the remaining three men left at the table. Makoto could see the excitement in Nagisa’s eyes, while the other two seemed like the didn’t really believe or that they were both rather bored with Nagisa’s trick to come here. Though Makoto thought about how Haru would probably have this look on his face no matter where they were.

“Haruka-senpai, looks like you’re next.” Rei brought both of Iwatobi’s elder swimmers attentions back to the Fortune teller. Makoto slid out his chair and stood, acting faster than his thoughts could keep up. He excused himself quickly and gave a slight bow before hurriedly walking out the door, his cheeks blushed slightly in embarrassment from his outburst. The sound of a second chair and a quiet voice followed soon after, something Makoto could just here over him opening the door to leave.

He stood just outside the restaurant taking in calm breaths to help him think straight again. Those breaths hitched when he opened his eyes to see Haruka standing closely in front of him, looking directly into his eyes. The two men stayed, eyes locked, only for a few seconds until Haru looked down and away.

“I can’t tell what is bothering you…” Haru quietly announced with a sigh. His deep blue eyes found their way back to Makoto’s green fields. Makoto opened his mouth to say something, anything but silence filled the space around them. Even with his strong reactions, Makoto still didn’t fully understand why he was acting so out of the ordinary. Maybe it was the new atmosphere, the slightly creepy woman, or the fact that his future could already be set for him when he himself was so unsure of many aspects of his life. But one thing he knew would be his rock throughout all of his ordeals, Haru would always be by his side.

Makoto was about to responded to Haru when sobs started to be heard from inside the shop.

“Nagisa…” they both sighed in unison. The thing with Nagisa was that his crying could either be tears of joy or sorrow, both sounded the same and unless someone could get him to talk there was very little luck of figuring out which it was.

The restaurant door burst open and Nagisa ran past the two men outside at a very quick pace. Unwilling to stop at the request of both Makoto and Haruka. Only moments later both Rin and Rei followed. Chasing after Nagisa, Rei used his running skills to keep up with the smaller blond. Rin decided to stop quickly to inform the two standing there, slightly dumbfounded, as to what happened.

“She couldn’t see either of Rei’s or Nagisa’s ‘ribbons’... The little penguin took it as neither of them had a soul-mate and started balling. Then he ran away before she could continue and finish what she was explaining.”

“Let’s go.” Makoto said, able to forget about his own worries, the three men chased after the other two.


	3. Bubbles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think I rushed the first two... I was just too excited to get them out there. This one is slowed down considerably in pace, but I think I like the pace of it now. Hopefully you all agree.

Haru lagged behind the rest of the group, not being able to run anywhere near the speed of being free in the water. His breath escaped him as he came to a stop somewhere in a park not far from their old high school. Haru had no clue they had been running for such a long time. His thoughts had been clouded with trying to dissect Makoto’s recent behaviors and what in the world they could mean.

Did he already have someone in mind? Was he dating someone Haru didn’t know about? Haru shook these thoughts, If he did have someone in Tokyo he wouldn’t be disappointed by his soul-mate being far away. None of this made sense, Haru concluded.

By the time Haruka had caught his breath, the three others were in the middle of calming Nagisa down. He had stopped crying, that’s a good sign Haru thought. Just needs a good distraction.

“Let’s go swim.” Haru announced.

All eyes flicked over to Haru. Confusion from Rei, annoyance from Rin, a small smirk from Makoto knowing what he was doing, and giggles from Nagisa started to redirect the group's attention.

“Haru-chan always wants to swim.” he said between giggles.

The others joined in the laughing which caused Haru to look away, acting like he didn’t want to be there.

“He’s practically a fish.” Rin jeered, catching on to the distraction.

“Yea, a dolphin!” Nagisa joined in.

Rei quickly corrected the blond. “Dolphins are mammals Nagisa, You know this. I presume Haruka-senpai would be a mackerel. My calculations would show the option is the only choice which makes sense.”

At this point Nagisa’s giggling halted and turned to Rei. The boys looked at Rei with strange glances until Nagisa burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, falling on his side and off the bench he had come to rest upon.

“I think you broke him…” Rin flatly stated. Kneeling beside the blond Makoto tried to quiet him down, as night had fallen and they could definitely be considered a public nuisance at this moment in time. Upon realizing what he had caused, Rei took the place of Makoto and seemed to be doing a better job than the brunet.

“Nagisa calm down.” Rei demanded. “You’re causing a scene.”

Haru glanced around at the audience of no one for Nagisa’s little show. Dramatic, just like Nagisa has always been, whether there is an audience or not.

“But… But Mackerel. Haru’s a Mack… Mackerel!” His speech was impeded by laughter and the onset of hiccups.

“Oi, I’m not a fish.” Haru stated indignantly.

Rin flashed a great white grin slyly sneaking into the conversation, if not to ruffled Haru’s ‘scales’ a little more. “Well, as the saying goes, You are what you eat. In this case you’d be the ‘World’s Largest Saba’.” His hands made an arc, pretending to show off a new sign with Haruka’s new title.

Nagisa had quieted down considerably after Rin’s last crack at Haru, but the sound of hiccups now filled the air. His cheeks stained with tears as his body jolted every few moments as his diaphragm twitched.

Haru pulled Mako away from the rest of the group, he had to check if his best friend was truly okay or if this was all just in his head. The two swimmers stopped just out of earshot, Makoto with an honest smile on his face and his head tilted in curiosity as to what Haru needed.

“Makoto.” Haru paused, “Are you okay?” His eyes conveying more to Makoto than his words ever could. The deep blue pools swirled with emotions Haru could never express through speech, and Makoto was the only one who could read their every message. It took some time when they were children to learn how to read him, but Mako was persistent in his choice to be there for Haru.

“I’ll be fine, Haru. Who knows if anything she said was real, There’s no reason to be worried. And on the chance she was speaking the truth and somehow has knowledge of the future or our soul-mates then I guess I should count myself lucky for supposedly having one… somewhere.” Haru watched Makoto shift his eyes towards Nagisa and Rei. He noted how different Makoto and himself were. Makoto’s face shows his emotions very easily, almost as if he doesn’t have control, while Haru is somewhat of a statue when facial expressions are concerned. Maybe there is more to Makoto than Haru has realized.

The emotions shown on Makoto’s face are ones Haru had never seen before, and he was becoming more unnerved with every expression he could not read. Tonight had been troublesome for everyone it seemed, that woman was more of a nuisance than her clothes led Haru to believe. At least things seemed to be calming down, Haru mused.

Makoto had rejoined the others, so Haru followed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Haruka-senpai, It is too late and cold to go swimming currently. Also I do not believe there are any pools open at this time… “ Rei responded to Haru’s statement from earlier which had incited a riot within Nagisa.

“Our old pool is right over there.” Haruka pointed in the general direction, but buildings obstructed the path.

“Oi, fish boy that is blocks away!” Rin spat.

“I don’t care, I want to swim.” Haru monotonically responded.

Mako knew things could and possibly would escalate if he did not step in quickly and settle this dispute in a quiet, and fair tone.

“Hey, what about this?” He started gaining the attention of the two would be combatants and the younger swimmers. “Why don’t we meet up tomorrow and all go swimming together. Haru, would you want to do that? We could even go to the larger pool at the swim club.” He smiled knowing the offer would not be easily refused by his oddly aquatic companion. Makoto watched as Haru had an inner conflict, his blue eyes wavering as he stared at his taller, green-eyed best friend.

“I would like that.” Haru responded diverting his eyes, caving into the weakness Makoto has often learned to exploit.

“Good” The brunet said. “And Rin, shouldn’t Sousuke be back by then? We should invite him to join us!”

Rin smirked, “Yea, I think he’d like that.”

 

 

 


	4. Currents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto wakes up after a long day and Haru is excited for the pool.
> 
> Sousuke is back from his business elsewhere, but brings a startling realization to Makoto.

Makoto opened his eyes, feeling the effects of the night before weigh him down. He did not understand why he had become so upset by the future the fortune teller had described to him. Maybe he did not want to leave Iwatobi again, though he lived in Tokyo, Makoto still felt Iwatobi was his home. The distance between his soul-mate and himself could even be out of the country for all he knew.

His heart had begun to race as the stress of all the possibilities began to flow through him. On top of it all, Makoto realized he wasn’t in his home, in his childhood bedroom. He sat up in a jolt at the sound of water. Everything clicked when the thought of Haru entered his head.

“Right, I’m staying at Haru’s while I’m home…” Makoto said to himself.

Haru had told Makoto he could stay in one of the extra bedrooms, since the space was available and this way Makoto would be very close by to his family, who were practically Haru’s, but still have some space to himself for the length of the stay in Iwatobi. At first, Makoto was not too sure about the situation he would be putting himself in, but he had become so used to being on his own, away from his family, it may have been difficult to re-acclimate to life in his childhood home.

After three days home, Makoto was glad he chose to stay with Haru, Mornings were much quieter than he had been expecting them to be on this break. Plus he never had to cook anything because Haru had a special diet and made food for both of them. Or maybe Haru just didn’t want to deal with Makoto going anywhere near a kitchen, Makoto laughed at the thought.

Now fully awake, Makoto got up and stretched his back to rid himself of aches caused by the bed which was too small for his tall frame. His hands hit the top of the door frame as he walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway which gave access to the bathroom and the other two bedrooms, only one of which were used. Makoto checked the clock on the wall and realized Haru had probably been in the bath for an extended amount of time. He knocked and announced he was entering, but upon opening the door he saw no one in the tub nor any water.

“Haru?” he called, wondering where the raven haired boy could be if he was not in the tub. As he walked further down the hall he stopped when a scrumptious smell reached his nose at the top of the staircase. Smiling, he made his way to the kitchen.

“Morning Haru-chan.” He smiled and tilted his head all the while smelling the air to inhale the different scents.

“Drop the -chan.” Haru said flatly, in an automatic response, his head had only turned slightly away from food cooking in front of him. A small portion of mackerel cooked alongside a few pancakes, a recipe he picked up from traveling to different countries for swimming competitions. Makoto loved these due to the fact that he could pour syrup on them and make them very sweet, the fact that Haru made them into cute little animals helped some too.

Haru walked over to Makoto, and gently placed the plate of pancakes on the table.

“Thank you Haru.” Makoto said sincerely.

The swimmers sat across from each other and bowed slightly.

“Itadakimasu.” They said in unison.

Makoto noticed how careful Haru was with his chopsticks when dealing with Mackerel, it really was sacred to him he thought. Makoto’s sweet tooth always got the better of him when it came to syrup soaked and buttered pancakes. He looked like a ravaging beast compared to Haru’s gentle movements.

After the boys had finished eating and cleaning up, Makoto suggested going to the pool early, which Haru had no qualms about.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The walk to the pool or ocean, or any body of water for that matter, was always quicker than Makoto expected. Even with his long legs Haru seemed to take larger strides than himself and be walking at a quicker pace. Makoto found this quirk of Haru’s quite amusing and it was only in moments such as this that Haru would not notice the odd expressions which would grace Makoto’s face. The swimmers arrived well before the others, not only because they lived the closest but also due to Haru’s ‘I get to feel the water’ walking speed.

The others arrived soon after, with Rin and Sousuke arriving last. Everyone changed quickly due to the relief they would receive from the cool water on hot and humid day. Makoto was glad to see Sousuke again, other than the few classes the two had together throughout their college lives, they did not see each other very often. Makoto found this slightly confusing as he thought they got along swimmingly, but maybe there was more to Sousuke than he could perceive. As the day went on things at the pool calmed down somewhat, after a race between Rin and Haru started for the sixth time, Makoto decided to float over to Sousuke for a chat.

“Hey, you ok? You look more serious than usual.” Makoto questioned. He had noticed Sousuke was being more reserved than usual. Sure back in high school he hardly talked to anyone, but the festival at Samezuka had opened him up to the Iwatobi boys. College did even more so, though that mostly pertained to Makoto and Haru as Nagisa and Rei weren’t around much.

“What? Oh… Yea, I’m fine.” Sousuke stated cautiously.

Makoto laughed gently at the swimmers statement. This caused Sousuke to raise an eyebrow towards Makoto, which only fueled the laughter even more.

“What?” Sousuke said, almost angrily.

“Oh, nothing. Everyone just says I am a bad liar… Well then they’ve never met you!” Makoto snickered.

“Tch…” Sousuke turned away.

“Oh, well I have a story that is bound to cheer you up!” He cheerfully said.

Makoto then went on to retell the happenings of the previous day in great detail, skipping over some of the more private moments between Makoto and Haru. The ribbons, the food, and Nagisa’s tantrum all included in the story. Makoto’s face had brightened throughout the course of the story seeing the entertainment it brought to Sousuke.

“So, you sure you put in every detail?” Sousuke said suspiciously.

Makoto tilted his head in confusion, “Yes, why?”

“When did you pay?” Sousuke slyly stated.

Makoto’s eyes grew to an exaggerated size in realization.

“Sousuke! We have to go back!” Makoto went into flurry of anxiety, pulling Sousuke into the locker room to change and rush to Mystide. Makoto was surprised Sousuke was going along with this, but glad he would not have to face the women alone for what would surely be an extremely awkward conversation.


	5. Riverbend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto and Sousuke make it to Mystide, but will Nami-san be so nice to the boy who dined and dashed? (Although it was totally an innocent accident)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life's been hectic, and I've had massive writers block. I'm going to do my best to get back to finishing this story, though I like to drag things out very very far, so who knows how long that'll take.
> 
> Also, I edited the colors previously stated. Makoto's ribbon matches Haru's eyes, not his own. For reasons to be told later on.
> 
> In the meantime, I hope you enjoy and would love to hear from you all.

Makoto hurried into the small restaurant, flicking his head back and forth looking for Nami-san. The woman in question walked over, just as Sousuke came up behind Makoto, having trailed behind slightly in the rush to reach the store. Makoto was slightly out of breath, after the brief jog he had broken into a few blocks away from the store.

Nami-san walked over to the two tall men standing at the entrance, she wore a face that was showing confusion. At least to the brunet, maybe the heavy breathing stirred the expression? Makoto thought.

“Welcome back, how can I help you?” Nami-san asked.

“I am so sorry….me and my friends ran off last night….we didn’t mean to.” Makoto huffed out. “Please forgive us, I can pay you in full now.”

Makoto reached into his back pocket, pulling money out as quickly as possible. He counted out bills passed what would be necessary to cover the meals and tip.  His posture bent over, in a combination of a bow and exhaustion. The green-eyed swimmer extended his hands gently, giving the money almost as an offering of forgiveness. Nami-san took the money with a small smile on her face, and walked around the counter to the register.

Makoto really wished Sousuke would help in some way, instead of just standing casually against the wall. The brunet took notice of how effortless it was for Sousuke to look cool. He was simply leaning against a wall, arms crossed and stone faced, yet somehow he exuded an aura of calm, collected, and laidback. A small chuckle escaped Makoto’s lips as he realized those were all traits Sousuke possessed.

When Sousuke’s raised eyebrow was noticed by Makoto, the green eyed man flushed in embarrassment at the thought of being caught. Quickly he turned his attention back to the woman in front of himself, who seemed to be studying the two swimmers closely. She had returned with a small piece of paper, she handed it to Makoto.

With a tilted head, Makoto asked, “What is this?”

“It is a voucher for three free meals.” Nami-san began to explain.

Makoto studied the paper in his hand, reading the contents of the paper. “But, why?” he asked.

“Every few hundred customers we give out a small token of gratitude, you and your friends were the latest to hit the milestone.”

“What?!... But… But we ran off!” Makoto exclaimed, almost in refusal.

“Yes, but here you are. Having paid in full, I see no reason why you shouldn’t receive this token of appreciation for being customers.”

“I... Thank you.” Makoto gleamed hesitantly with a smile, lightly taking the paper.

 

 

Sousuke starts to move toward the door, having pushed himself off the wall from his leaning position.

“Ah, may I ask what carried you off in such a hurry? Other than your energetic little friend.” Nami-san asked unsurely.

Sousuke stopped and turned, noticing that the women seemed to be looking at the two swimmers arms or wrists. Sousuke thought to himself, maybe they left because you’re odd and creepily looking at them, lady.

“Ah yea, Nagisa can be a little overdramatic. He seemed to be really excited to find out about his soulmate, and well you know the rest.” Makoto explained, giving a slanted grin in the end.

Remembering the events of the previous night, Makoto thoughts turned back to Haru and the mess of emotions he’s begun to feel since that night. He took a few breaths, looked up at Sousuke for any reassurance, only to remember that the taller swimmer probably wasn’t the most helpful in situations that involved Makoto’s complex emotions. The brunet shook the stress off and smiled at Nami-san.

“Well maybe Nagisa and your other two friends can return and I would have the chance to finish explaining everything before the… incident” She laughed gently. “Oh, and before you leave, I couldn’t help but notice something has changed within you. Or rather around wrist.” She stated in hopes Makoto would understand.

The green-eyed man’s eyes lit up for a moment, his heart rate accelerated, but he kept his hopes from getting too high. “Oh? How so?” He quickly asked, forcing himself to lessen the amount of anticipation he wanted to show.

“It seems, that somehow, the color of your ribbon has changed. So, your soul-mate has changed?” She stated, questioning herself. “I’ve never seen this before. You my dear, are rather unique. The color seems to be a teal-ish shade and they are much closer than yesterday.”

Makoto turned quickly at the mention teal, realizing Sousuke probably thought he was crazy for becoming so entranced with this woman’s tales of love. Yet Sousuke did not seem as judgemental as the brunet would have guessed, he looked almost interested.

Nami-san followed Makoto’s eyes and landed on Sousuke. “Ah, yet again the color matches your friends eyes. And you…” 

“Sousuke”, the broody teen filled in.

“Sousuke, would you care to learn about your soul-mate?” Nami-san inquired.

“Um, sure?” A skeptical answer escaped his mouth.

“One moment, just let me…” She closed her eyes for a moment, when she opened them, she looked at his wrist. 

“Well it seems your soul-mate is not that far off, in fact, your soul-mates may be friends as they seem to be in the same direction and nearly in the same place.” She looked between the boys and smiled. “Oh, how interesting, it seems your ribbon matches Makoto’s eyes. Your group of friends seems to be a very interesting group.”

Makoto was still processing the fact that his soul-mate had changed. Maybe, just maybe things could work out for him, but why had the color changed to match Sousuke’s eyes, Makoto thought.

“Excuse me, but how could my soul-mate have changed? Doesn’t that go against the whole idea?” Makoto asked somewhat accusingly.

“I don’t make the future, I can only tell you what I see. I am sorry.” She responded.

Sensing Makoto’s growing anxieties, Sousuke quickly stepped in.

“Well, we should get going. Nagisa isn’t the only one who ran away from his friends.” Sousuke joked and started to walk out the door, Makoto following behind.


	6. Dam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke takes notice of Makoto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My format for a text message/email will be as follows:
> 
> [(Name):  
> *Contents of message*  
> ]
> 
> I tried to get back to how i want to be writing this, but I did half of it while I was working.... so may not be perfect.

Sousuke had realized that Rin’s childhood friends were weirder than he expected. Fortune Teller’s, destiny, invisible strings/ropes that tie two people together no matter how far apart they are… how much weirder could things get? Granted he knew that Haru was a water obsessed freak, he did not expect the rest to have such odd behaviors as well. Perhaps Nagisa, but Makoto was someone Sousuke considered to be normal, while being just a little to nice.

The pair walked towards the train station, having received a message from Rin. A message that consisted of mostly yelling, was somewhat informative on what the group would be doing, now that Haru had finally decided to exit the pool. Why the group decided to go to the mall at the busiest time and day was beyond the teal-eyed man. As they two reached the station, Makoto broke the semi awkward silence between them.

Sure we’ve had classes together and have hung out during our free time while in school, Sousuke thought, but when Makoto is stuck in his thoughts the broody man just can’t help to feel uneasy. He’s never been good with sensitive people, minus his shark toothed best friend, but he was another story entirely. Sousuke spent most of his time deciding whether or not to say something to the green eyed man beside him.

“Wow, look at this place! It’s so… New!” Makoto exclaimed with a bright smile and wide eyes. The train stations recent renovations sparkled in the afternoon sun. Turnstiles clicked in rhythm, no longer sticking and squeaking. The once sporadically working lights all gleamed, reflecting off the immaculately clean floors. Sousuke rarely took notice of things like this, and even more seldom took appreciation in such things the way Makoto does. Makoto was something special, Sousuke was sure of it.

The two boarded the train and sat next to each other. They did not have to go far, only two stations, so Sousuke laid his head back against the window closing his eyes to relax. His head jerked slightly to the side as the train began to leave the station. He would need this quick cat nap in order to deal with the energy Rin and Nagisa are going to have while searching through the mall stores. The black haired teens body just had relaxed when he felt the train slowing, far too early to be at the next station.

“Eh?”

Sousuke opened one eye to see Makoto looking out the window, twisting to try and see what was causing their train to stop. As they slowed completely a chime from the speakers sounded and a voiced scratchily stated the situation.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry for the inconvenience but a small rock slide has occurred ahead on the tracks. We will need to wait here while crews clear any obstructions. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation.” The voice cut out just as the train halted to a stop, jostling its passengers slightly.

Makoto turned to Sousuke, a gentle smile on his lips, “I’ll call the others and tell them what’s going on.” Sousuke watched him pull out his phone and search for a number. With that taken care of, Sousuke closed his eyes. A longer nap won’t hurt, he thought to himself. He could hear Makoto talking softly next to him, and Nagisa’s loud complaints through the phone. Tuning out the more abrasive sounds, the black haired man fell asleep.

~~~~~~

The forests surrounding Sousuke were unlike any he had seen before, even the fantasy worlds he indulged himself in during his free time could not compare to the splendor that now encircled him. Bright, yet gentle greens over stimulated his senses. Trees, plants, and the incredibly soft grass captured his thoughts with every new shade of green becoming his favorite. The trees were large, thick trunks that led high into the sky spreading the branches out in a broad canopy. Sousuke began to wander, his feet brought him from place to place, up a hill, around the most magnificent tree,  through tall grass, everywhere, until he found himself in a small clearing.

It was at this moment the green around him faded away, leaving behind browns and grays. Nothing left of the wonderful dreamscape he had come to love so quickly. It seemed as though the plants had all suddenly died leaving behind nothing but a rotting desolate field. Looking around he found a small stand which  looked much like a tall rock, except for the smooth etching at the very top. The words “Hakoke Park” had been carved into its surface. As Sousuke’s hand reached out to touch the rock, his surroundings began to shake. Panic set in as his vision became blurry and a bright light appeared.

~~~~~~

The world was slightly tilted when Sousuke opened his eyes, looking down he saw Makoto’s hand gently shaking his thigh in an attempt to rouse the larger man from his sleep. The black haired swimmer lifted his head in a rushed movement. Why didn’t he wake me when I fell asleep against him? Sousuke turned his head as to hide the pink forming on his cheeks.

“ We’re almost to our stop.” Makoto practically whispered.

“ Uh, thanks. And sorry.” Sousuke replied in a quick manner.

Sousuke saw the brunet tilt his head with furrowed eyebrows. He couldn’t possibly not know why I’m apologizing, right? That was such an odd thing, a grown man sleeping against another… Sousuke let out a sigh and stood, waiting for the train to reach the station.

“ Rin said they would be in the arcade, so we should head there first. But apparently Haru talked them into going to try and find new swimwear… luckily they were able to keep him at the arcade until we get there. They found a game about water.” Makoto explained, laughing at his best friends antics.

“Ah, okay.” Sousuke nodded and checked his phone, in the forty five minutes he’d been asleep Rin had sent several text messages.

 

[Rin Matsuoka:  
First you two run off and now you’re “stuck on a train”. Quit lying and get here.  
]

[Rin Matsuoka:  
Oi, what’s going on?  
]

[Rin Matsuoka:  
SOUSUKE YAMAZAKI, ANSWER ME YOU BIG BRUTE. DID YOU GET LOST WITH MAKOTO?!  
>:[  
]

[Rin Matsuoka:  
Having a good nap? How’s your pillow?  
;) :* :D  
]

“ Uh, what’s this about?” Sousuke shoved his phone into Makoto’s face, waiting for an answer.

Makoto scratched his cheek, blushing slightly “ Hehe, well you see…”


	7. Tentacles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haru and Rin race. Haru causes Nagisa much concern.

Haru’s body had become rather sore after Rin had vowed to defeat him in a race. The two swimmers ended up racing eight times so far, with each consecutive race more competitive than the last. Their bodies were being pushed to the limits having gone all out in each heat. Training for the Olympics, they had both improved vastly from their high school days but exhaustion was something neither could elude. While Rin had been training as more of an all around swimmer, he still had a large focus on freestyle in order to compete with Haru. Swimming full on for that amount of time had worn out the pair rather quickly. It wasn’t until the end of the eighth race that Haru’s mind drifted into thoughts of Makoto, wondering where his best friend and Sousuke had run off to. About to start the ninth race, Haru’s mind filled with worry.

His start was slow, the thought of Makoto possibly being ill or hurt distracting him from the “GO!” Nagisa so cheerfully belted out. Rin got a jump on the start, but Haru pushed off, extending his legs as quickly as possible in an attempt to make up the missing distance. Rin had splashed into the water, moments ahead of him. As he broke the surface of the water he knew that the water sensed his tensions, and would fight his every move. The water was quick to welcome him, surrounding the black haired swimmer with ease.

During his dolphin kick, the black haired swimmer could feel the the water wrap itself around his body. Tentacles of water pulling on his legs, squeezing his chest, and grasping at his arms. He fought the sensation and pushed forward. Haru would not give up in a race against Rin, he knew that he would become the cause of much concern for not only Rin, but all of his friends as well. So Haru fought on, pushing himself to the limit and managing to fight back against the water and gain some ground against his shark of a rival.

Haru was narrowly behind at the turn, both swimmers flipping quickly and using their very muscular legs to kick off the wall and propel themselves forward. As his head breached the surface he could hear Nagisa cheering too loudly for something that was a friendly competition. His hands kept in time pulling himself forward, now neck and neck with Rin.

It wasn’t until Haru turned his head to take a breath that he caught a glimpse of everyone standing by the side of the pool, intensely watching the two rivals. In this moment is when the thoughts of his tall best friend came rushing back to him. Makoto was not here watching Haru swim and the brunet is not cheering him on telling him to do his best. Haruka could feel the water grab at him once again, having lost his fighting spirit. His stroke slowed slightly and in that moment he touched the wall. But Haru barely noticed the race had finished, his blank stare slowly moved upward, waiting, hoping the large hand would be there, ready for him to take hold and emerge from the water one last time.

Much to the black haired mans disappointment, there was no one there to smile gently at him and take hold of his hand. He sighed to himself. Rin had been celebrating his narrow victory, with everyone congratulating him from the side of the pool. Haru felt alone and lost, even with his group of friends around him. Without Makoto, the freestyle swimmer felt like he was slowly sinking into the water, lost to its hold.

He placed his hands on the cold tiles and pulled himself out of the pool. The sound of dripping water became all too noticeable. Haru turned to find his friends watching him carefully, wondering whether he was upset that he had lost or why he had gotten out of the pool.

“Well done, Rin.” Haru stated in congratulations. 

At first, it seemed Rin and the rest of the group thought Haru was upset that he had lost, even if it was only by a fraction of a second. But the black haired swimmers extended hand quelled any thoughts of hurt feelings. Rin grabbed Haru’s hand and the freestyle swimmer pulled his rival up and out of the pool; dripping, sore, and trying to catch their breath.

“Let’s go to the mall.” The short statement was said quickly and without emotion, causing confusion in Nagisa and Rei, while Rin was somewhat worried.

“Wait, wait, wait… Haru-chan wants to go to the mall? There’s a pool. Right there.” He points dramatically to the shimmering water next to the men. “ And you want to go to an over crowded, loud, and messy place like a mall, where it’s full of people instead of swimming more? Uhhh…”

“This is rather odd behavior for Haruka-senpai.” Rei stated after analyzing the situation.

“Are you KIDDING?! Haru-chan, are you ill? Is someone forcing you to do this? Rin, what have you done, you broke him!” Nagisa had become frantic attempting to sort out what was causing Haru’s strange behavior.

“The water is upset.” was Haru’s only way of describing how he felt during that last race, maybe the others would understand him, maybe they won’t. All he knew was that he need to clear his mind, without depending on the water for that comfort.

Haru did not understand what had gotten into him, sure Makoto was his best friend, but he had never had a panic attack of sorts even when the brunet was having problems Haru understand, he had never reacted this way. All Haru knew was that he needed to get his thoughts off the stressful thoughts that had begun to consume him. He knew that if Makoto was truly in need the taller man would open up to him and let him help. So all he needed to focus on was making himself feel better and bring peace to his own mind, as selfish as that sounded.

At this point the others had agreed to go to the mall and had begun chatting about what stores to go to, where to get food, and what to buy. Haru, like most of his life, tuned out the conversations he found trivial and decided to head into the locker room to shower. At least here the water wouldn’t try to pull him down and drag him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let me know if you like the pace. I feel as though I'm pushing the main plot too fast.
> 
> As always, I'd love feedback.


	8. Creek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tall boys reach the arcade, and something unexpected happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. I am so incredibly sorry about disappearing. I got a full time job, and moved so... that took a lot out of me. not to mention constant writers block. But I'm going to do my best to continue this, and actually finish and update on time!
> 
> As an appeasement, this chapter is slightly longer than the other. Granted not by much, but still longer.
> 
> Reading your thoughts an critiques really spur me to keep going on. so feel to give your input!

As Makoto and Sousuke entered the arcade, flashing lights took over their vision. Bells were dinging and kids could be heard celebrating, cheering, and grumbling over their respective games. The two swimmers scanned the crowd for their friends,  surprised Nagisa hadn’t already ran up to them and dragged them through the mess of people to the group.

“Let’s see if we can find them from here, then maybe split up if that doesn’t work?” Sousuke suggested.

“It’s a plan.” Makoto replied. His face was taken over with concentration searching for Haru.

There was a small group of girls playing a dancing game, a crowd near the racing simulator with everyone’s eyes glued to the two battling it out, and a few loners were scattered across the floor, but Makoto could not find Haru anywhere. Maybe they left because of that large, rambunctious crowd, he thought. Exasperated the green-eyed boy turned to Sousuke.

“I can’t find them anywhere, want to go…” Makoto started, when Sousuke suddenly grinned a little and grabbed his wrist. Sousuke’s larger hand wrapping around his, index finger and thumb meeting just on the other side of Makoto’s wrist. Confused, and somewhat stunned at the surge of emotions he was not expecting, left the brunet lost in his own world, being dragged to the large crowd.

What am I feeling, he thought. It’s excitement but subdued and somewhat cautious. A feeling Makoto did not want to forget, yet was scared to ever feel it again. It had such power over him that he was unsure if it was something that made him happy or an emotion to dread the next resurgence. It would take time to process this, the brunet determined.

Sousuke turned to Makoto with a sly grin on his face “ Who do you think would be THIS competitive in a race?” With the sudden voice hitting his ears, Makoto snapped back into reality forgetting his newfound inner battle for now.

They reached the far edge of the group, and sure enough Haru and Rin were side by side in the bucket seats of the racing simulator. Both of their faces creased with concentration, eyes twitching to the different lights and movements appearing on the screen. Makoto was drawn into Haru’s competitive attitude and started silently cheering him on, in an attempt to give him good luck so that he would be able to defeat the red head. He had never seen Haru’s face so clearly during one of the competitions between Haru and Rin. Most of the time there is a pool full of water in the way. He is so focused, yet calm. It’s a rather intricate yet simple expression, as one would expect out of Haru.

A grin spread across the brunet’s face, feeling the emotion emanating off his two friends, happy that everyone has grown so much since their high school days. But still playful enough to get drawn into such a trivial, yet entertaining game.

Makoto’s heart was swelling with pride and happiness, heightening all his senses. He could hear and see more than one would consider normal, or maybe that was just Makoto focusing so hard on the event in front of him. This is when the tall brunet noticed a pressure around his wrist. Glancing down he saw a hand, gently squeezing his own. And with every ooh and ahh from the crowd of teenagers, a small twitch would course through the muscles in the hand, sending a small wave up Makoto’s arm. Following the large hand up, over a rather bulging bicep, green eyes landed on Sousuke’s smiling face.

Makoto realized that this wasn’t just any smile though, the slightly taller man was feeling

the exact pride and excitement he himself was feeling. That realization stirred something inside him, reminiscent of only a few moments before joining the crowd. A feeling that he had only ever felt for a certain water obsessed best friend of his, granted it was only an inkling of the feeling, it was there nonetheless recognizing a part of what had threw him so off balance moments ago. Confusion began bubbling up in Makoto’s mind, he never thought that he would ever feel even the slightest bit the same for someone the way he does Haru.

Everything Makoto has come to know is now shaken, turned on its head, and painted a mess of new colors. All of new thoughts had taken the brunet out of the moment, and did not realize he had spaced out. A slight shaking sensation broke the spell, Sousuke had now let go of his wrist,  giving him a concerned look. His furrowed brows asking if Makoto was okay.

“Sorry, got lost in thought.” The backstroke swimmer apologized.

“Hmm.” Sousuke nodded, seemingly only partially buying the statement.

Makoto turned to see how the race was going, only to find out that the crowd had dispersed and their group of friends had all gathered around Haru and Rin, chatting animatedly. He walked over slightly eavesdropping in an attempt to figure out who won, seeing as he was in his own world, lost in his thoughts. Compliments and critiques of both racers could be heard, but nothing really hinted at who had won the competition. It wasn’t until Nagisa had an outburst, asking no one in particular about how Rin and Haru could tie.

“We’ve solved nothing. Ugh, you always tie!”

“Well, they wouldn’t be rivals otherwise.” Makoto chuckled, announcing the pairs arrival.

“Mako-chan! Sou-chan! Did you see? They tied another race!” Nagisa declared exasperatingly. “There wasn’t even water involved!”

“Well, there were a large amount of water features throughout the level, adding many a hazard for the drivers to avoid.” Rei corrected, causing a round of laughs throughout the group.

“Fish Boy here wouldn’t play otherwise.” Rin said, then in a serious tone. “The water called to me, told me I would win.” The red heads impression of Haru was spot on, and it caused everyone to freeze for a second, taking in the words, all slightly unsure of how to react. Makoto was the first to crack a laugh, thus opening the door for the rest to release their pent up giggles. The brunet wrapped his arms around his stomach, doubled over in laughter. Sousuke was chuckling at the skills of his best friend, while Nagisa nagged Rin to do it again.

“Oi.” Haru spoke softly. “Oi, It wasn’t that funny. Or even that good.”

“Come on guys, be quiet.” Rin continued, reenacting his impression.

Another round of laughter washed over the swimmers, each bursting into their own fits of giggles. Makoto couldn’t hold his balance with his diaphragm spazzing so much. His vision was blurred, tears swelling in his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. Reaching out to his side he grabbed at the air in an attempt to stabilize himself. And in doing so, he found an arm, which moved to hold his elbow and steady the laughing brunet. Makoto turned and hid himself against the body supporting him. He willed himself to stop laughing as he knew he was causing a scene and was the only one laughing quite this hard. He started to take deep breaths, well attempted to at least, slowing his laughter and calming himself down.

It wasn’t until he had come to a halt that he noticed the large muscle in his hand and the larger body he was pressed up against. Please don’t be who I think it is, he thought to himself. In a subtle attempt Makoto removed himself from the larger form. A blush had crept across his facade, from ear to ear.

A gentle and reassuring smile spreads across Sousuke’s face.

“Are you okay?” He asked with a breathy laugh, genuinely concerned, yet still recovering himself. 

“Yes. Sorry.” Makoto blushed. “Thank you.”

The brunet turned back towards the group, catching eyes with Haru. He smiled, an attempt at convincing the freestylist that it was all in good fun and no one was truly laughing at him. But before Makoto could convey this, Haru expression hit him. Embarrassed and shy, but if it had been about the impression he would have been looking at Rin. Haru had already looked away, but the green eyed swimmers gaze remained, sorting through what he could have done to cause such a face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought :)


End file.
